BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP Shares Purchased by Synovus Financial Corp

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in BHP Group Limited by 198.7%, owning 23,905 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million.
• BHP Group recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $1.185 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $1.00.
• Wall Street analysts show mixed ratings for BHP Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $48.50, amid recent downgrades from several firms.

Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 198.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,905 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,903 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in BHP Group were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in BHP Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,150 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,440,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in BHP Group by 487.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 30,485 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,297 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in BHP Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,151 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in BHP Group by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,294,562 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $112,043,000 after purchasing an additional 846,963 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BHP Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BHP traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.86. 2,367,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,674,123. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $52.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.81. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.185 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 410.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from BHP Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.00. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BHP shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Argus downgraded BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

About BHP Group

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.